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Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Golden Rule

A Sailboat Will Sail Whether It

Believes In The Ocean Or Not

What is Belief?

Is it merely a proposition, "I believe such-and-such", or is it more than that?
Is it merely a proposition tagged with emotions? Can I say that I believe in God and juxtapose a feeling of exaltation, and then be sure that I have, indeed, "believed"?

I doubt it.
Religious belief implies a whole new way of acting and living, not mere propositions and statements.

The implication of this is as follows:
If someone claims that they believe in a religious doctrine that urges us to care for the poor and sick, yet by their actions they neglect the poor and sick, then that someone does not believe. They have misled themselves and us.

Belief without actions - and we mean "all" actions - is an empty breath.

How does one regulate one's actions to the many religious statements in their scriptures? The Golden Rule seems admirably to be able to act as such a digest: do unto others as you would have others do to you.
At this point, we of the modern world have reached a crucial point, for we must now actually consider the effects of our actions upon a larger community. Furthermore, this larger community is all Humankind at least, for the Golden Rule does not set forth means by which we may pick and chose the cities, states, groups, or tribes of those whom we shall be in sympathy with.
It says "others", and by its non-exclusivity, we must understand "all others".

We are not at that point.
We do not do that.
We think Belief is an activity of the mind and spirit of one person, not mental and physical and spiritual acts networked to all mankind (not just the community of believers)!
We of the present would at least allow our politics to trump our religiosity, and we would say that the Golden Rule, applied in such a thoroughgoing manner is some sort of Socialism or Communism.. ., or some other "-ism" we have learned to let populate our nights full of boogeymen and monsters.

The Logic of the Golden Rule creates a Oneness of religious and moral intention within all Humankind that mirrors the Oneness of God. Even though we accept the oneness of God, we cannot deal with the oneness of mankind, except as some dreary science of "equality". (and where, friend, do you see "equality" today?)

The Golden Rule is a revolution hidden in scriptures. Its logic of taking consideration of the effect of all of one's actions upon all humanity - and possibly all Life! - will transform everything. Its essence is a Oneness of Moral Activity of Creation.